Federal Judge Carlton Reeves, of the Southern District of Mississippi, ruled that the doctrine of qualified immunity meant that a white police officer could not be sued for racially profiling and then terrorizing an innocent black man on the side of the road. Judge Reeves ruled that the law required the dismissal of the case […]
This SCOTUS season is turning this into a full-time Supreme Court Blog which is not what it is supposed to be. But these past few decisions have been so important -not just for the decisions themselves, but as a window into this divided, politicized Court, that I wanted to write about them. In a huge […]
Its been a heck of a SCOTUS term so far, with key rulings on Gay Rights; DACA and now abortion. This decision today in June Medical Services LLC v. Russo, is a great relief to supporters of women’s reproductive rights. Since the language of this law was nearly identical to the Texas law struck down […]
Another day, another big loss for the Trump Administration and I would argue another great win for American society. In a 5-4 vote, with Chief Justice John Roberts joining the liberal wing of the Court to form a majority, the Supreme Court blocked the Trump administration from ending the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) […]
In a landmark ruling, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled that Title VII of the Civil Rights Act prohibits job discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation and transgender status, a major victory for advocates of gay rights; the transgender rights movement; and anyone who recognizes the invalidity of discrimination against any class of people on […]
A few days ago, at midnight, the Supreme Court rejected a church’s challenge to California’s COVID-19 restrictions by a 5–4 vote, with Chief Justice John Roberts joining what is considered the liberal wing of Breyer, Sotomayor, Ginsburg and Kagan. In a pointed concurring opinion, Roberts chided the conservative wing for trying to override public health […]
After Twitter placed “Get the Facts” labels on President Trump’s false Tweets about massive voter fraud caused by mail-in voting, the POTUS went on a tirade against the social media giant, comparing the fact-checking labels to censorship (which it is not) and accusing the company of stifling conservative voices (though the president provided no examples […]
Back in August 2019 I wrote about Calvin Duncan, a jailhouse lawyer with only a 10th grade education who got the Supreme Court of the United States to look at the issue of non-unanimous jury verdicts in criminal cases, a procedure permitted in only two states: Louisiana and Oregon. (see https://courtroomstrategy.com/2019/08/power-of-persistence-jailhouse-lawyer-takes-case-to-scotus/ ) Well in October […]
As a trial lawyer, I think I would like my chances trying this case of impeachment before just about any jury but the GOP Senate who will nullify the House’s articles no matter what. That doesn’t mean the House shouldn’t vote the articles (including contempt of congress). In fact, I believe they must. Will it […]
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